Rescued a Chameleon Last Night...

Well, I was told to join this forum for help. It kind of sucks having a "help me!" post as a first post, but, I'll introduce myself properly later.

The Chameleon I rescued last night is VERY malnourished. I'm not sure if it's actually sick or not, but I know for a fact this poor chammie is the victim of neglect and ignorance.

Here are the pictures I took last night with my webcam(I don't have a digital camera, sorry. )







I'm no chameleon expert, far from it - this is my first one. But I spent all night last night, and all day today, researching chameleons, calling reptile stores, and speaking with vets. I'm dedicated to doing my best to help this one.

I think it looks like a panther chameleon? But I'm told on another forum that it looks like a female veiled, and it also sort of looks like an Oustalet's. So, I don't know... it's hard to tell with how unhealthy it is.

So, I know I have everything correct as I have been told so far. I have the basking spot about 97 degrees, the cool side about 80 degrees, more foliage than you can shake a stick at, extreme privacy, in a quiet part of the house, a dripper for the water dish, lots of humidity, on eco earth moistened substrate, and food(butterworms and medium crickets) available for it to eat.

What I want to know is more along the lines of how do I get it back to health? Should I force feed it? it isn't eating(not that I'm surprised), I haven't seen it drink, and I'm concerned about those grey patches on it's sides. One of which has a cut on it. And... what kind of chameleon is it?

Thanks so much!

its a vericousis (mind the spelling to lazy to look it up)

I is niether a panther nor vieled, i would agree with the poster above. I would try to shower it, as to help the hydration. Also,
take out the substrate. Try to get him to eat, and if he continues not to...It is time to make a vet visit.

Thanks,
Jake

Looks like a troubled spiny I would be more concerned in rehydrating then force feeding. The chameleon needs forced hydration if its not drinking on its own. And I also would suggest a vet visit for parasites.

Rehabbing a sick cham is not a job for a first timer. I would really consider giving him to a reptile vet to see if they will rehab him.

ok, thanks.

I have a vet visit scheduled for tomorrow... I'm afraid to take him though - won't the stress of the trip be worse for him?

Right now he's clinging under his basking spot. He gets up every couple of hours to move a little, then he goes right back to the basking spot and leans/lays down under the light with his eyes closed.

I'll get a syringe and give him some fluids right now. Thanks so much!

Well, I'm a first time chameleon owner; but I am not new to reptiles. I've been rescuing/rehabbing reptiles for about five years now, and been an avid reptile fan and keeper for over 8 years.

So, I'm not a complete newb. lol

Just do the best that you can, which I am sure you will. Vet check is awesome, give it lots of water, keep it warm, and as much food as it will eat. Good job for the effort!

It has food available, but has refused to eat anything since I got it last night. Hence why I asked if I ought to force feed... I'm afraid it's stressed, and I'm very fmailiar with what stress can do to herps.

I really appreciate all this advice; if my chammie makes it, I'll be a regular here I imagine.

It is a male Furcifer verrucosus. He looks like an older animal and is likely an import/wild caught. The most important concern if you have any chance of saving him is water and lots of it. He needs several good showers a day to rehydrate his kidneys, at least 20-30 minutes each time. If he will start eating you can then consider deworming him. I've found the verrucosus to be fairly nervous animals, especially the males. He may not eat with you watching so be on the lookout for stools for evidence of feeding. Good luck.

lets get a positive ID on him if we can.
Right now, it looks like he's got some burns on the dorsal
and side facing the camera
Assuming that he's a wild caught animal
I'm going to say that he's been through a hell of a lot

Putting him into a proper environment with a good UV light will be a good start lots of plant coverage so he can hide.
Water and provision of crickets

so if you think he's up to it perhaps a subdermal injection of sterile saline solution might help a bit.
OR I would mix up a syringe (san needle) with a nice vitamin and cricket mash slurry
If you can get him to open his mouth -a good squirt will get some food and water into him.

best of luck!

That is so awesome. Your passion will certainly help make up for any cham inexperience. Please let us know how it goes at the vets. Keep him covered and give him something to grip on his way to the vet's.

In September we rescued a dehydrated male veiled cham with bent casque and burns on his body. He had been kept in a dirty wood enclosure under a compact flourescent light. He's doing great now, although he is still a finicky eater and very shy for a male. Here is a photo of him after one of his showers:

I would recommend force feeding in addition to forced watering. Just be careful that you don't choke the chameleon while force feeding/watering them. And start slowly with the force feeding, as too much nutrition after a period of starvation can send them into shock.

Feline clinicare is a good choice for force feeding sick reptiles/amphibians (carnivorous ones, anyways). Your vet should be able to provide you with some. A vet visit is definitely worth it, despite the stress. I wouldn't get my hopes up too much, though, he looks pretty bad.

And I agree that it is definitely a male Furcifer verrucosus.

ok, I got almost a CC into him orally. I misted down his cage, and him, very well. He's perked up a bit, and refuses to go back into his cage. So he's sitting under my ponytail on my shoulder glaring at anyone who gets close. I think he's feeling better... I managed to get him into his cage, but he stood there scraping at the glass where I put him in at and wouldn't settle down. So he's on my shoulder, where he's remaining calm and still, and has turned pastel green.

Oh, and I forgot to ask - why remove the bedding?

Xeikeness said:

Oh, and I forgot to ask - why remove the bedding?

Click to expand...

He may try to eat it and could choke. Also, it is unnecessary since they don't normally spend time on the bottom of cage. And so it is more hygienic without it. That is so neat that the guys here could so quickly and accurately identify the species!

Is there a common name for the type of cham he is?

And I'll ask my vet about the clinicare, and bigger syringes. I only have the 3/10 size syringe. >.o It won't suck up anything bus straight fluid. Should I put a cricket in his mouth next time I give him water?

And yes, I agree that he looks really bad. I honestly don't think he's going to make it... but dangit, I'm going to TRY. He deserves someone to care about him.

The burned looking patches aren't raw, except that the one on his left side( the grey patch on his side is the same on the other side, too) has an open scratch. I put a little betadine on it, just in case.

gesang said:

He may try to eat it and could choke. Also, it is unnecessary since they don't normally spend time on the bottom of cage. And so it is more hygienic without it. That is so neat that the guys here could so quickly and accurately identify the species!

Click to expand...

Thank you!

And I know, I'm so grateful. I've been looking at page after page of chams on google images, but nothing looked right. I'm so glad the people here could help, and are continuing to be a big help. I'm very grateful.

Xeikeness said:

Is there a common name for the type of cham he is?

Click to expand...

Spiny or Warty Chameleon. Doesn't sound very glamorous (you know how those scientists can be), but the photos of healthy ones do look beautiful.

Check this link for further infor on the species: http://www.adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/fverrucosus.html

lol, yes I know how scientists are with the names of things... what, a robin is a turdus maximus, if I recall correctly.

Ok, so I gave him another bit of water, and to my great pleasure, I got him to eat a beheaded cricket as well. *does a dance of minor success*

I put him back in his cage, and he's scraping to be brought out again. "No, I don't want to be in a perfect environment! I want to be outside on your shoulder, where it's cold and dry!!"

Oi vey.

If he's scrapping glass it could be his reflection is being a problem to him. If he was indeed a wild caught cham it will not be so easy to get him use to enclosure.. I would attempt to put him in a larger enclosure with lots of things to climb. Cage would be best. He may be trying to ward off his reflection.